Garment-supporter.



L. N. & F. 0. GATES.

GARMENT SUPPOBTER.

APPLICATION rum) NOV.18, 1911.

Patented May 14, 1912.

IN VENTORS.

lorwmN'cates BY flan/rim fates- 1 c ATTORNEY.

WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LORWIN N. GATES AND FRANKLIN O. GATES, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

GARMENT-SUPPORTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1912.

Application filed November 18, 1911. Serial No. 661,088.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Lonwm N. GATES and FRANKLIN O. OA'rns, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporters, of which the following is a full, clear, and-exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

Our invention has relation to improvements in garment-supporters; and it consists in the novel details of construction more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective showing the application of our supporter to a pair of trousers and a shirt; Fig. 2 is a pen spective of our supporter detached; Fig. 3 is an elevation of one of the wire units of the supporter; Fig. 1 is a side view of Fig. 3, showing in addition the manner of attachment to the waist-band of the trousers and the'shirt; and Fig. 5 is a top edge view of Fig. 3.

The present invention is an improven'ient on the supporter forming the subject-matter of our pending application for Letters-Patent, filed Sept. 16, 1911, Serial. Number 649,673; and while having the same objects and contemplating the several advantages of the pending case, the present construction is in a measure simplified, affording a larger number of supports for the garment, providing special means of attachment, and possessing further and other features of construction the advantages of which will be clearly apparent from a detailed description of the invention which is as follows Referring to the drawings, 1 represents an elastic waist-band or strap adapted to be passed about the waist and fastened by a buckle B of any conventional design. Disposed along the inner face of the band are a series of pockets 2 distributed in pairs, the members of each pair being spaced apart as shown. Each pocket is adapted to receive the lateral open wing or member of a supporter, said wing being composed of the upper horizontal wire portion or member a, a lower parallel member Z2, and an outer vertical connecting member 0, thus making the wing U-shaped, the open ends of the Us facing each other, and the portions a and I) having free play to and from each other thus imparting elasticity to the supporter.

The inner ends of the members a, a, are bent upwardly in the form of parallel arms (Z, (Z, spaced apart, the latter being thence bent inwardly and horizontally in the shape of alining parallel portions 0, c, thence upwardly into vertical parallel members h, h, thence downwardly toward the wings in the form of a resilient U-shaped hook m. The hook m is adapted to be passed over the edge of the waist-band w of the trousers T (or skirt if a womans garment) as shown. The members 6, e, serve as fulcrums or supports for the bent clasp-lever, which in this case comprises a long lever-arm L, and a short lever-arm L, the long arm oscillating to and from the plane of disposition of the portions (Z, (Z, and the short arm L, (which is considerably narrower than the arm L) oscillating or playing over the inside of the resilient book an. The outer edge of the arm L bevels from a central apex p, the inclined edges on either side of the apex rubbing against the sides of the hook m. By inserting the waist-band w of the trousers behind the hook at, and oscillating the lever arm L downwardly against the members (Z, (Z, the arm or wcdge-shaped locking-finger L will be swung upwardly against the trouser-band 20 thus jamming or wedging the said band between the finger L and the hook 771 the latter thus serving as a resilient abutment for said finger L. To arrest the. lever-arm L in its downward swing, the sides of the free end thereof are provided with lateral projections or extensions 3 which strike the members (Z, (Z, and thus prevent the leverarm being carried past the locking position of the clasp.

The inner ends of the members I) are bent downward in the form of depending members t, 25, extending below the belt 1, said members being then bent up in the form of a close bend a, which forms a bite for the insertion of the shirt (or shirt-waist) the same as in our pending application aforesaid, said bite preventing the shirt S from creeping upward. It follows therefore that not only is the garment T supported in place, but the shirt S is kept from working up.

The present supporter may be constructed out of a single piece of wire if so desired, but in the present instance we show the same composed of two sections, the members (2, 0, being severed asit were. The two wire sections thus forming the member 0 are inserted into the opposite, ends of a wire tube or sleeve 4 after which the respective wings of the supporter are inserted into their pockets 2.

In practice first one Wing is inserted into a pocket, after which the band 1 is'stretched sufliciently to bring the open end of the opposite pocket opposite the end of the other wing, when a release of the fabric thus stretched will allow the second wing to enter its pocket and the operation is complete. Obviously, after the belt 1 is passed around the waist, the several supporters will be bent so as to conform to the curvature of the waist, as shown to best advantage in the top edge View in Fig. 5. The port-ion of the supporter to which the trousers T are secured projects above the waist-band l, the part carrying the bite u depending below the band, the same as in our pending application aforesaid. The hook m has formed in it a kink 7a to engage the finger L for the clasped posit-ion of the parts.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In combination with a Waist-band a wire member provided with two wings or members extending in opposite directions and secured to the band, an upper member bent from the inner portions of the wings and projecting above the band, a depending member bent from the inner portions of the wings and projecting below the band, a clasp on the upper member, and a bite formed on the bottom member.

2. In combination with a waist-band. a member provided with two wings or members extending in opposite directions and secured to the band, an upper member bent from the inner portions of the wings and projecting above the band, a depending member bent from the inner portions of the wings and projecting below the band. fastening means on the upper member, and a bite formed in the bottom member.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

LORVVIN N. GATES. FRANKLIN O. GATES. Witnesses:

EMIL STAREK, Jos. A. MICHEL.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

